Remembering the reason for the season

Silent Night, Holy Night. All is calm, all is bright. Round yon virgin, mother and child. Holy infant so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace....sleep in heavenly peace.

Silent night, holy night. Shepherds quake at the sight. Glories stream from heaven afar. Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia. Christ the Savior is born...Christ the Savior is born.

Silent night, holy night. Son of God, love's pure light. Radiant beams from thy holy face. With the dawn of redeeming grace. Jesus, Lord at thy birth...Jesus, Lord at thy birth.

For a long time, Silent Night was nowhere near my favorite Christmas song. Though pretty, I thought it was overdone and too slow and plodding. Somehow over the past few years my opinion has changed. Not sure how or when it happened but Silent Night now holds a tie with
O Holy Night as my favorite song of the season and will nearly always bring me to tears by the second verse. Focus on the words the next time you sing the song and you let me know if you don't get a little misty-eyed.

We have a lot of nativities in our home. Mine and Bryan's parents both gave us nativities for our first Christmas as a married couple and we still display them along with the others that we have collected over the years. Most come out just at Christmas but a few stay out all year long. The kids each have one in their bedroom as a solid reminder of what the season is really about. Unpacking those nativities and setting them up is my favorite part of decorating...and they are the last things I box back up again in January.